''Biomphalaria tenagophila'' is a
species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...
of air-breathing
freshwater snail
Freshwater snails are gastropod mollusks which live in fresh water. There are many different families. They are found throughout the world in various habitats, ranging from ephemeral pools to the largest lakes, and from small seeps and springs ...
, an
aquatic pulmonate
Pulmonata or pulmonates, is an informal group (previously an order, and before that a subclass) of snails and slugs characterized by the ability to breathe air, by virtue of having a pallial lung instead of a gill, or gills. The group includ ...
gastropod
The gastropods (), commonly known as snails and slugs, belong to a large taxonomic class of invertebrates within the phylum Mollusca called Gastropoda ().
This class comprises snails and slugs from saltwater, from freshwater, and from land. T ...
mollusk
Mollusca is the second-largest phylum of invertebrate animals after the Arthropoda, the members of which are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 85,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized. The number of fossil species is e ...
in the
family
Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...
Planorbidae, the
ram
Ram, ram, or RAM may refer to:
Animals
* A male sheep
* Ram cichlid, a freshwater tropical fish
People
* Ram (given name)
* Ram (surname)
* Ram (director) (Ramsubramaniam), an Indian Tamil film director
* RAM (musician) (born 1974), Dutch
* ...
's horn snails.
This species is medically important
pest,
because of transferring the disease
intestinal schistosomiasis. (Intestinal schistosomiasis is the most widespread of all types of
schistosomiasis
Schistosomiasis, also known as snail fever, bilharzia, and Katayama fever, is a disease caused by parasitic flatworms called schistosomes. The urinary tract or the intestines may be infected. Symptoms include abdominal pain, diarrhea, bloody s ...
).
The parasite ''
Schistosoma mansoni
A paired couple of ''Schistosoma mansoni''.
''Schistosoma mansoni'' is a water-borne parasite of humans, and belongs to the group of blood flukes (''Schistosoma''). The adult lives in the blood vessels ( mesenteric veins) near the human inte ...
'', which ''
Biomphalaria
''Biomphalaria'' is a genus of air-breathing freshwater snails, aquatic pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the family Planorbidae, the ram's horn snails and their allies.MolluscaBase (2018). Biomphalaria Preston, 1910. Accessed through: World Regi ...
'' snails carry, infects about 83.31 million people worldwide.
The shell of this species, like all planorbids is sinistral in coiling, but is carried upside down and thus appears to be dextral.
Taxonomy
''Biomphalaria tenagophila'' was originally discovered and described under the name ''Planorbis tenagophilus'' by the French naturalist
Alcide d'Orbigny
Alcide Charles Victor Marie Dessalines d'Orbigny (6 September 1802 – 30 June 1857) was a French naturalist who made major contributions in many areas, including zoology (including malacology), palaeontology, geology, archaeology and anthropol ...
in 1835.
d’Orbigny A. (1835) Synopsis terrestrium et fluviatilium molluscoum, in suo per Americam meridionalem itinere collectorum. ''Magasin de zoologie'' 5(62): 1–44
Page 26
Orbigny (1835) referred its distribution to
Corrientes Province
Corrientes (, ‘currents’ or ‘streams’; gn, Taragui), officially the Province of Corrientes ( es, Provincia de Corrientes; gn, Taragüí Tetãmini) is a province in northeast Argentina, in the Mesopotamia region. It is surrounded by (fr ...
, Argentina and to
Santa Cruz Department
Santa Cruz () is the largest of the nine constituent departments of Bolivia, occupying about one-third (33.74%) of the country's territory. With an area of , it is slightly smaller than Japan or the US state of Montana. It is located in the e ...
, Bolivia (referred as "
Santa-Cruz et Chiquitos"). But Orbigny himself later limited its distribution to
Ensenada, Buenos Aires Province
Ensenada () is a city and port in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina, located around the Ensenada de Barragán. It has 31,031 inhabitants as per the . It is the capital of Ensenada Partido, and
together with Berisso Partido they are the main su ...
, Argentina in 1837.
Subspecies recognized in this species include:
* ''Biomphalaria tenagophila tenagophila'' (d'Orbigny, 1835)
* ''Biomphalaria tenagophila guaibensis''
Paraense, 1984
– ''Biomphalaria tenagophila guaibensis'' can be distinguished from the nominal subspecies according to the details on the
reproductive system
The reproductive system of an organism, also known as the genital system, is the biological system made up of all the anatomical organs involved in sexual reproduction. Many non-living substances such as fluids, hormones, and pheromones are als ...
only.
There are also three "old-style" proposals of subspecies, based on shell characteristics:
* ''Planorbis tenagophilus chemnitziana'' Beck, 1837 – this name is based on the catalog for the shell in
Museum of Copenhagen
The Museum of Copenhagen (Danish: Københavns Bymuseum) is the official museum of Copenhagen, Denmark, documenting the city's history from the 12th century to the present. History
The Museum of Copenhagen was founded in 1901. Starting in 1925, t ...
, but without description.
* ''Planorbis tenagophilus orbignyana'' Beck, 1837 – the same situation as in ''P. t. chemnitziana''
* ''Australorbis bahiensis megas'' Pilsbry, 1951
History of discoveries summarized Paraense (2001).
[Paraense W. L. (2001) "The Schistosome Vectors in the Americas". ''Memórias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz'' 96(Supplement): 7–16]
text
PDF
Phylogeny
A
cladogram
A cladogram (from Greek ''clados'' "branch" and ''gramma'' "character") is a diagram used in cladistics to show relations among organisms. A cladogram is not, however, an evolutionary tree because it does not show how ancestors are related to d ...
showing phylogenic relations of species in the genus ''Biomphalaria'':
Distribution
''Biomphalaria tenagophila'' is a
Neotropical
The Neotropical realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting Earth's land surface. Physically, it includes the tropical terrestrial ecoregions of the Americas and the entire South American temperate zone.
Definition
In bioge ...
species and its native distribution include
Peru
, image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg
, image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg
, other_symbol = Great Seal of the State
, other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal
, national_motto = "Fi ...
,
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
,
Uruguay
Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...
and
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
.
This species has recently expanded its native range.
The non-indigenous distribution of ''Biomphalaria tenagophila'' includes a hypothermal spring near
Răbăgani,
Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
(46°45´1.3´´N, 22°12´44.8´´E).
Shell description
The
shell
Shell may refer to:
Architecture and design
* Shell (structure), a thin structure
** Concrete shell, a thin shell of concrete, usually with no interior columns or exterior buttresses
** Thin-shell structure
Science Biology
* Seashell, a hard o ...
is sinistrally coiled (has left-handed coiling). The flat shells are yellow-brown, discoidal, deeply and symmetrically biconcave, and consist of 5 or 6 slowly increasing
whorls
A whorl ( or ) is an individual circle, oval, volution or equivalent in a whorled pattern, which consists of a spiral or multiple concentric objects (including circles, ovals and arcs).
Whorls in nature
File:Photograph and axial plane floral ...
. The
last whorl
The body whorl is part of the morphology (biology), morphology of the gastropod shell, shell in those gastropod mollusks that possess a coiled shell. The term is also sometimes used in a similar way to describe the shell of a cephalopod mollusk ...
is rounded; the intermediate whorls are slightly angled on the left side. The
aperture
In optics, an aperture is a hole or an opening through which light travels. More specifically, the aperture and focal length of an optical system determine the cone angle of a bundle of rays that come to a focus in the image plane.
An opt ...
is circular or slightly ovate and angled toward the left side of the shell (i.e., toward the upper surface on the bottom right shell). Fine, parallel, rib-like transverse lines can be seen on the outer surface of the whorls.
The width of the shell is usually from 11 to 13 mm,
but in the largest individuals, the shell can reach 21 mm in width, 6.5 mm in height and have 6.5 whorls.
Anatomy
The anatomy of this species was firstly published under the synonym ''Australorbis nigricans'' in 1955.
The body length varies from 56 mm to 64 mm.
The
radula has from 125 to 168 rows of denticles (tiny teeth). The number of lateral teeth varying from 28 to 36. The mode radula formula is 31-0-31.
The specific characteristics of the
reproductive system
The reproductive system of an organism, also known as the genital system, is the biological system made up of all the anatomical organs involved in sexual reproduction. Many non-living substances such as fluids, hormones, and pheromones are als ...
of ''Biomphalaria tenagophila'' are: more than 200 diverticulae of the ovotestis; 7–11 main lobes of the prostate; and presence of vaginal pouch.
Ecology
Habitat of ''Biomphalaria tenagophila'' is tropical standing water or freshwater.
''Biomphalaria tenagophila'' is an
intermediate host
In biology and medicine, a host is a larger organism that harbours a smaller organism; whether a parasitic, a mutualistic, or a commensalist ''guest'' (symbiont). The guest is typically provided with nourishment and shelter. Examples include a ...
for ''
Schistosoma mansoni
A paired couple of ''Schistosoma mansoni''.
''Schistosoma mansoni'' is a water-borne parasite of humans, and belongs to the group of blood flukes (''Schistosoma''). The adult lives in the blood vessels ( mesenteric veins) near the human inte ...
'' and a
vector
Vector most often refers to:
*Euclidean vector, a quantity with a magnitude and a direction
*Vector (epidemiology), an agent that carries and transmits an infectious pathogen into another living organism
Vector may also refer to:
Mathematic ...
of
schistosomiasis
Schistosomiasis, also known as snail fever, bilharzia, and Katayama fever, is a disease caused by parasitic flatworms called schistosomes. The urinary tract or the intestines may be infected. Symptoms include abdominal pain, diarrhea, bloody s ...
. ''Schistosoma mansoni'' came to Neotropics from Africa in context of the
slave trade
Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...
.
''Schistosoma mansoni'' was not able to infect ''Biomphalaria tenagophila'' in 1916 and it has adapted to this host since 1916.
Experimental parasites include:
* ''
Angiostrongylus vasorum
''Angiostrongylus vasorum'', also known as French heartworm, is a species of parasitic nematode in the family Metastrongylidae. It causes the disease canine angiostrongylosis in dogs. It is not zoonotic, that is, it cannot be transmitted to huma ...
'' – (experimental)
References
This article incorporates
public domain
The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work
A creative work is a manifestation of creative effort including fine artwork (sculpture, paintings, drawing, sketching, performance art), dance, writing (literature), filmmaking, ...
text from the reference.
Further reading
*
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Biomphalaria Tenagophila
Biomphalaria
Gastropods described in 1835